The prior art contains a number of different types of barbeque smoking devices that contain organic material such as woodchips. A traditional type of smoking box includes a cast iron container portion covered by a perforated removable lid. The construction for such a smoking box is shown in U.S. Design Patent Des. 283,588. The lid is removable to fill the holder with woodchips that have been pre-soaked. The smoking box is placed upon the charcoal material of a charcoal barbeque. It may also be used in a gas barbeque by placing the smoking box under the food grate, if there is sufficient room, or on top of the food grate if there is insufficient room. The device may also be used with an electric barbeque.
The purpose of the smoking box is to allow pre-soaked woodchips to create smoke within an enclosed barbeque for flavoring the food being cooked.
The prior art includes two types of disposable vented containers that contain woodchips in order to allow food on a barbeque grill to undergo smoking. The first type is a disposable container that contains pre-soaked woodchips such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,849. The disadvantage of this approach is that the wooden chips have a tendency to become waterlogged, thereby presenting more difficulties in obtaining a sufficient amount of smoke within a short period of time. Further, since the woodchips represent organic matter, it may be necessary to treat the contents of the can so that mold does not develop.
A second approach is to include dry organic material in a container that is vented by means of holes or a valve. Heating causes pressurization of small pieces of the organic material that permits smoke to be generated for flavoring food being cooked in a barbeque grill. This is the approach adopted in U.S. Pat. No. 6,481,344. This mentioned patent also includes the possibility of enclosing flavor capsules that include flavor material in some water, the water vaporizing upon heating thereby permitting spices to intermingle with the flavored smoke. The capsules are not meant to pre-soak the wood, only to create water vapor for flavored spices in the capsules. As a result, the organic material remains dry and is subject to burning, or a higher degree of smoke generation than would be desired.